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Nathan East
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | genre = | occupation = | instrument = | years_active = 1975–present | associated_acts = | website = }} Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is considered one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego (1978). He is a founding member of contemporary jazz quartet Fourplay and has recorded, performed, and co-written songs with performers such as Bobby Womack,http://basles.be/transcriptions.php?i=322 Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Joe Satriani, Peter Gabriel, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Toto, Kenny Loggins, Daft Punk, and Herbie Hancock. Career Early life Nathan Harrell East was born on December 8, 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Thomas and Gwendolyn East, he is one of eight children (five boys and three girls) raised in San Diego, where the family moved when he was four. East first studied cello in seventh through ninth grades and played in local Horace Mann junior high school's orchestra. At age fourteen he developed an interest in the bass guitar, playing in church (Christ The King) for folk masses with his brothers Raymond and David. He was active in his (Crawford) high school's music programs along with a local top 40 band called "Power". He has said his early influences included Charles Mingus, Ray Brown and Ron Carter on upright bass; and James Jamerson, Paul McCartney and Chuck Rainey on electric bass. He studied music at UC San Diego. Nathan East is also an accomplished amateur magician member of The Magic Castle and the Academy of Magical Arts. Music career " with Eric Clapton at Madison Square Garden on May 3, 2015]] East is a founding member of the contemporary jazz band Fourplay with Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour on guitar (later replaced by Larry Carlton and Chuck Loeb) and Harvey Mason (drums). He has worked with Bobby Womack (on the album The Poet), Babyface, Anita Baker, The Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Peter Gabriel, Gail Ann Dorsey, Bryan Ferry, Herbie Hancock, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Earth, Wind & Fire , B.B. King, Kenny Loggins, The Love Unlimited Orchestra, The Manhattan Transfer, Laura Pausini, Savage Garden, Sting, Barry White, and Stevie Wonder. He co-wrote the song "Easy Lover" for Phil Collins and Philip Bailey. In 2013, he recorded the bass line for the 2013 hit "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk, which won Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (2014). Since the 1980s, East has been a member of Eric Clapton's studio and touring bands. East was invited to play at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 2009. In early 2010, he was invited to join American Grammy Award-winning rock band Toto on their reunion tour to benefit member Mike Porcaro, who had been diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Another tour took place in the summer of 2011 with East again playing. He was with the band during their summer tour in 2012. He joined Eric Clapton's band for concerts in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Dubai in February and March 2014 and again for the Madison Square Garden and Royal Albert Hall concerts of May, 2015. East's debut solo album was released on March 25, 2014. During recording, he was joined by several of his longtime associates, including Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald, Eric Clapton, Ray Parker Jr., and Greg Phillinganes. Equipment at Knight Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina, on June 8, 2014.]] With Yamaha, East developed a custom 5-string signature model, the BBNE (modeled after his early 1980s BB5000 5-string bass). The second signature bass, the BBNE2, was released in 2001. A limited edition 30th Anniversary version (the BBNE2 LTD) was released in 2011. He has also used custom 6-string prototypes of his BBNE2 between 2003 and 2005, along with his black 1980s LB-1 Motion 5-string bass and a pair of 6-string TRB6P models. Yamaha introduced the NE1 Parametric EQ Pedal, otherwise known as the "Magic Box" in the early 2000s. This pedal essentially gives the player the ability to use the "Nathan East EQ curve" on any bass they choose. East also plays a Yamaha SLB200 Silent Upright Bass. Awards and honors * Ivor Novello Award, British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for "Easy Lover" * Most Valuable Player (bass), International Rock Awards * Bassist of the Year, U.S. National Smooth Jazz Awards * Most Valuable Player (bass), N.A.R.A.S. * Most Performed Work, ASCAP * Honored by U.S. Congress, 2007 http://www.whereseric.com/news/2007/04/nathan-east-fourplay-receive-congressional-record.html Discography Solo With Fourplay Live collaborations References External links * Official site * Online Electric Bass School with Nathan East * Fourplay homepage * Interview at Smooth Jazz Notes Category:1955 births Category:20th-century American bass guitarists Category:20th-century bass guitarists Category:21st-century American bass guitarists Category:African-American musicians Category:American guitarists Category:American jazz bass guitarists Category:American jazz double-bassists Category:Male double-bassists Category:American male bass guitarists Category:American rhythm and blues bass guitarists Category:American rock bass guitarists Category:American session musicians Category:Guitarists from Philadelphia Category:Living people Category:Smooth jazz bass guitarists Category:University of California, San Diego alumni Category:Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania Category:21st-century double-bassists Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:21st-century American male musicians Category:Male jazz musicians Category:Fourplay members